Featured Creature (06/10/24)

"Behold a Salamander; graceful ancient lizard who cannot be harmed by fire. He'll even wade through lava streams with no impediment."
- The Mentor, Campaign Mode

"A Salamander has joined you. These reptiles are extremely hot-blooded, and will happily wade through lava."
- The Mentor, My Pet Dungeon Mode.

Here's a quick "frequently asked questions" page for you. Shrines can be enigmatic beasts and the fun of building one is figuring out how big or small you want it. As you can see, this one's quite chunky for what it is. Hopefully this page quells some momentary confusion.

1. The look. Now I do not like saying that games have “aged”, I think it’s tacky to put such expectations when these developers only have so much to work with. With this said, this game’s graphics continue to be a pleasure on the eyes twenty years on. The blackness of the maps, the glow of the walls as your Imps fortify them, the soft light from rivers of lava, the details in every model…It’s such a comfortable little thing to look at. Also, as a complete and utter fantasy lover, this game was designed for someone like me.


2. The atmosphere, man. This thing is brimming with it. From the sound effects, to the music, to the creatures…to that delightfully sinister voice of the Mentor, in all of his cloying sleaziness. This game knows how to immerse me and keep me immersed. It makes me feel just as foul and wretched as the very creatures that scurry through my dungeons. It’s dark and grimy, yet amongst the crawling rats and rotting corpses, it has a carnal underbelly. It’s a game where dank prisons and the slinky frames of Latex-clad Mistresses can co-exist in perfect harmony. It’s good to play any time of the day, but for me personally, I really find the atmosphere coming out when I turn off the lights, dress in all-black and set my Razer keyboard to flicker like a fire. That’s when I feel absolutely diabolical, and I adore it.


3. The sense of humour. This is such a rambunctious little game, and it wears this proudly on its sleeve. Just as much as the game bathes in its dark atmosphere, it’s happy to have silly things happen amongst the grit and dirtiness. You can slap creatures with your cursor, especially if they just so happen to be underperforming Imps. Creatures and heroes alike make all sorts of ridiculous noises, the voice acting for enemy Keepers is downright corny, and and when a creature wins a jackpot in your casinos…what do you have in mind? A display of animal ferocity where everyone starts throwing tables? Free drinks? Well, maybe for Dungeon Keeper 1, but here? Everyone in the room starts boogieing to Disco Inferno. Even the Mentor himself is in on the bit; he’s a surprisingly witty guy and he has a remark for virtually everything…Oh, and he’s always happy to alert me whenever he sees any Micro-Piglets stalking my dungeon.


4. It fun. My autism brain likes slotting things into place and watching things grow…and that’s why I’m a god game fan. Oh, and I get to trash things. I get to lay siege, be laid under siege, eat shit and make the enemy eat shit.

Favourite Creature: Mistresses, with Black Knights and Dark Angels at a close second. Salamanders are also adorable and I can never bring myself to slap them.

Favourite Level: Conversion, also known as Cherish. Heartland/Regicide and Scavenge/Goldenglade are neck-and-neck for second place.

Favourite Magical Spell: Tremor. In the wise words of The Simpsons Movie…”EARTHQUAKE, NYEEHHHHH!!!”.

Favourite Mentor Line: “You have an excess of Mistresses…There’s a word for Keepers like you…”. Oh, and no, he’s not kinkshaming you either. He says the mistresses are an “exquisite find” so if anything, he’s congratulating me for being aggressively bisexual. It was either this line or me saying “ALL OF THEM!” like a total fangoyle.

Favourite Random Funny Thing: Dropping Maidens into the Unholy Temple and hearing their cartoonish wailings and gurgling noises as they drown. It’s the goofiest sound in this entire game, and that’s quite the achievement.

1. Replay the entire campaign from start to finish. It's all fun and games until I get to Woodsong.


2. Replaying my favourite levels in the main campaign; these being Carnage, Scavenge, Cherish, Creep, Brotherhood and Regicide.


3. Trying out all the alternate paths in the main campaign. I personally prefer rescuing the Black Knights from Lord Volstag as opposed to besieging him outright. With this said, I've been meaning to rescue the knights, break past Volstag's defences without killing him, and then spread to the other side of the map. Sounds like a fun...challenge.


4. Taking advantage of how broken the Possession spell is and using it for...nefarious purposes. Mainly solo'ing whole gangs of heroes as a Mistress, Black Knight or Dark Angel.


5. Making unusual or decorative room layouts. My Pet Dungeon is naturally the best for this one, but it can be done in Skirmish too, if you're willing to ignore the enemy Keepers. As for the rooms in question, I like to hollow out a big patch of land, and then leave a dotted border of wall tiles. I do this the most with temples, but I've made prison-torture chamber hybrids where there's a big cell in the middle, and a strip of torture chamber outside the immediate dotted-line patch of wall tiles. Well hey, at least the prisoners get a nice eyeful of what's to come.


6. Making mazes for teams of heroes to go through...Especially with lots of nasty surprises.


7. Possessing a creature and admiring my hard work. To be honest, this is one of the things we'd remember the most from our childhood experiences with this game. We used to possess a creature, then go ahead and wander about by warm streams of lava and cool recesses of water. One of our favourite things that we'd do would be to go in the prison and stare at the rats squirming across the floor.


8. Possessing a creature in the casino when someone gets a "Jackpot Winner!" and watching everyone in there boogie.


9. Hurling waves of skeletons at the enemy forces. I do this a lot with the various sentry traps and other nasties in Regicide, but I've also done this nicely in Brotherhood. It's especially amusing when I start taking prisoners and then assimilating them into my skelly horde.


10. Locking all my Trolls and Bile Demons in my workshops and forcing them to work themselves to the bone. I've recently made a more "ethical" version of this after the loathsome group KETTBD.(Keepers for the Ethical Treatment of Trolls and Bile Demons) came to my house personally and begged me to change my ways. It was that, or being pelted with molotov cocktails. So now, the Trolls and Biles are having a better time in their workshop...now that I have to "feed" them and let them "rest". Gugh.


11. Attracting one type of creature for particular dungeons. I do this the most with My Pet Dungeon, namely with Mistresses, Black Knights, and Vampires. While it's better to just lob any unwanted critters into the portal, I instead do...


12. Mass torture-to-death sessions. Goblins get this the most because I hate the little buggers. They're cowardly, they're weak, and they're about as charming as an involuted toenail. Worse yet, they're ever-so-abundant in the creature pool and they clog my portals like mad. But it's not just gobbos. Doing this with heroes is also fun, and I like to see how long they last before their will-to-live evaporates. It's like when you're in a car and you're guessing which raindrop will make it to the bottom of your window.


13. Attracting Elite Creatures and giving them their own special lair and hatchery quarters. Now I'm imagining a comedy story about this very concept...Although I can see this being great. webcomic material.


14. Watching heroes try to comprehend my secret doors. I've pondered on sticking a hero in a room with nothing but secret doors, and a starved level 10 salamander to keep them company.
15. Possessing a Bile Demon just to use the "fart" attack over and over again. Uh oh, stinky. I personally like the idea of trying out that secret door idea, but instead of a hungry-hungry salamander, I possess a level 10 Bile and-


16. Keeping my creatures stuck with a Call To Arms spell for my own sadistic pleasure.


17. Using a high-level Bile Demon as a training dummy in the Combat Pit. I don't hold any grduges against Biles, quite the opposite, they're great creatures to have around. With that said, there's just a lot of potential for tomfoolery.


18. Chicken spell. Just. Chicken spell.


19. Playing just to listen to Richard Ridings' performance as the Mentor. Before I get what the kids called "kinkshamed" to death, I just wanna say that it's a legitimately good performance and-


20. Possessing a chicken and running a timer to see how long it takes before a creature comes along and eats it. We did this a lot as a child and it's still a guilty pleasure now.


21. Building stone bridges over lava, putting creatures on there and selling the bridge tiles that connect to any land. Basically just leaving them on the Dungeon Keeper equivalent of a desert island. Sometimes I leave them for so long that they start rebelling, but beause they can't cross lava, they're just stuck there to sulk about their predicament. Sometimes I do this with heroes and have my dark elves pelt them with arrows.


22. Mass-firefly executions via electric chair. For the uninitiated, the torture chamber's electric chair will kill Firefies instantly. So then, I started getting whole handfuls of flies, slammig them into the chair and creating a massive pile of charred elytra. Super, I am sincerely sorry for this. I promise to screencap some lovely flies in their natural habitat as emotional compensation for reading this particular sentence.


23. Stripping entire levels of all their walls and floor tiles. This was deliciously fun to do with Regicide, where I watched the king pace back and forth like a panicked gerbil as I gradually chipped away at his fortress. This is also very satisfying to do in Creep, considering how you spend most of the level hiding from Pureheart's forces and micromanaging your gold.

An Iceberg is an exploitable image format used to display levels of knowledge on a given topic. The top of the iceberg is labelled with commonly-known facts and the levels below are labelled with increasingly obscure facts. For any newcomers, this is not my first iceberg! I actually made a previous one on the Petz series of all things...definitely a far-cry from slaughtering innocent townspeople, that's for sure!

1. Heroes hate Creatures - With enough torturing, you can convert those pesky heroes to your side. This is a very useful trick, as some hero units are stronger than their creature counterparts. Unfortunately, there is a caveat. Even the most damned, broken souls don't want their roommates to be literal hell-spawns. If you try to house heroes and creatures together, they'll get quite upset about it. The quickest way to get them complaining is to try and make them share a lair. Luckily, the solution is a simple one. Build hero-exclusive rooms, get some doors, move some creatures and you're sorted.


2. Horny's voices - Horny in game sounds like the bellowing beast you'd expect him to. But in the promotional clips, he sounds downright meek. He even has an adorable stammer.


3. Jackpot Winner! - When a creature wins a jackpot in the Casino, the Mentor will exclaim "Jackpot winner!". Then, the game will play "Disco Inferno" and everyone will start partying like it's 1999.


4. Possession is OP - So much so that speedrunners have made a "No Possession" catergory for the game. Possession, as its name implies, lets you nab one of your creatures and go into a first-person mode. This lasts until you run out of mana or you relinquish control of your victim. Possession’s cheap, has a quick cooldown-timer and the ease of movement make it very easy to abuse. Most possession spell footage you’ll see is just people circle-strafing things to death. It’s by far the most effective on traps, as they tend to have short ranges and sluggish cooldown timers. While a fast-moving creature will give you the best results, you should be able to outwit the enemy AI just fine. The only problems you'll have is falling prey to your own hubris. No, you should not try to solo that group of giants.


5. Slapping - By right-clicking, you can use the hand of evil to slap your creatures. Slap Imps to make them work faster, and slap Mistresses to make them happy. Besides this, slapping puts your creatures in a less-than-stellar mood. If you're feeling especially cruel, you can slap them to death. This can also be done to enemy heroes in the prison or torture chamber.


6. Woodsong Difficulty - Woodsong is widely considered by fans to be the hardest level of the main campaign.
   
   The level revolves around the enemy keeper Asmodeus. He's buried himself in his dungeon, and now you have to go dig him out. It gives you a brisk time-limit of 45 minutes, so if you hate timers, this is already a problem. You're surrounded by hero gates, and worse yet, you have to break through a whole camp of heroes. The patrol is on water, so your only way across is rapid bridge-building. The quieter you do this, the better, because The heroes in this level are vicious. They'll bolt for your dungeon heart the second they notice you, and they won't let up. If you let the timer run out, they'll go and destroy Asmodeus instead. If this happens, you lose, so you can't just sit there and let everyone kill eachother. As a result, some Dungeon Keeper fans compare Woodsong to the Dungeon Keeper 1 level, Blaise End. Blaise End definitely edges out, but Woodsong is still a nasty surprise by itself. As a result, some Dungeon Keeper fans compare Woodsong to the Dungeon Keeper 1 level, Blaise End. Blaise End personally edges out as the harder of the two, but Woodsong is still a nasty surprise in its own right.

1. Cheats - Like most games, Dungeon Keeper 2 has its share of cheats.



do not fear the reaper = Wins the current level.

feel the power = All your creatures are instantly levelled up to level 10.

fit the best = All traps and doors become available.

ha ha thisaway ha ha thataway = Gives you 100,000 Mana.

i believe its magic = All spells become available.

this is my church = All rooms become available.

now the rain has gone = Permanently reveals the entire map.

show me the money = Gives you gold.



2. Chicken Possession - Creatures are not the only things you can possess. Unlike other instances of possession, you can't do anything with your chicken. All you can do is watch as it mindlessly bobs around until something eats it. Once you're "eaten", you're taken out of Possession and left to watch the remains of your feathery friend. At least she was delicious.


3. Comedic Mentor Lines - The Mentor, while being a reliable source of information, can come out with some rather comedic lines. These lines tend to happen at particular times, or if you do something out of the ordinary. Page 137 of the Dungeon Keeper 2 Prima Strategy Guide provides a useful masterlist of all these lines in written form, but I've also put them here for direct reference.


Click here to see the lot:




No user input for 160 seconds = "The very rock yawns with anticipation of your next fascinating move."

No user input for 160 seconds and more than 4 mistresses in the Torture Chamber = "You’ll go blind, you know."

After two hours of play on a level = "If you were any kind of a real Keeper you would have won by now."

If you own more than 10 Mistresses = "You have an excess of Mistresses. There’s a word for Keepers like you."

If you play at Midnight = "It is the Witching Hour. Curses are half-price."

If you play at 1am = "Surely, even Dungeon Keepers must retire to a Lair of some description?" (He yawns)

If you play at 2am = "Hello? Are you still there? The Imps are about to lock up."

If you play at 3am = "You know that low, broad, downy-soft item of furniture in the next room? It has the power to cure fatigue and restore vitality."

If you play at 3:15am = "Your nocturnal perseverance has earned you a hidden gaming tip...Go to bed!"

If you play on Halloween, both at midnight and 6:06pm = "Trick or treat. Keeper! Buwahahahahahaha!"

Random, every 40 minutes = "A lost soul has entered your Dungeon. Oh — no, it’s wandered out again."

Random, every 40 minutes = "A neutral creature sends word that he can’t make it today."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Your Dungeon floor is lumpy. Order your minions to jump up and down."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Hungry Demons cannot reach their toes."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Your Dungeon is on an incline. Angry creatures cannot play marbles.

Random, every 40 minutes = "Big monsters! Big prizes! I love it!"

Random, every 40 minutes = "Your Dungeon is full of yoghurt."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Keeper, you have something unpleasant under your fingernail.

Random, every 40 minutes = "Micro-piglets stalk your Dungeon. Beware!"

Random, every 40 minutes = "Your Dungeon is damp. Install central heating."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Never eat anything bigger than your own head. Keeper."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Your Lair has been re-carpeted."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Your minions demand cable."

Random, every 40 minutes = "Timing is...everything."



4. Fighting Styles - All creatures (Good and evil) have unique fighting styles that you can exploit in your battles. There's four in total, Blocker, Blitzer, Flanker and Support.
   
   
   Blockers fight defensively and should be used to hold ground. Blockers consist of Bile Demons, Black Knights, Giants, Goodly knights, Guards, Maidens, Royal Guards, Stone Knights, The three Princes and Trolls.
   
   Blitzers aim for direct assaults and serve as shock troops. Blitzers consist of Dark Angels, Mistresses, Skeletons, Vampires, King Reginald (Not that you can recruit him but the more you know) and Horny.
   
   Flankers try to sneak behind enemy lines, being too weak for direct combat. Flankers consist of Dwarves, Fairies, Fireflies, Goblins, Monks, Rogues, Salamanders and Thieves.
   
   Supports provide aid to the latter two groups with magical spells and ranged attacks, also being unsuited for direct combat. Supports consist of Dark Elves, Elven Archers, Warlocks and Wizards.


5. Hidden Realms - Like Dungeon Keeper 1, this entry has hidden realms that can be unlocked throughout the main campaign. Unlike the prior game, these maps are more akin to fun minigames than the previous game's elaborate challenge gauntlets.


6. Horny hates Water - Horny, while being an invincible force of pure evil, will groan in pain if he crosses bodies of water. Amusingly this can happen in the end-of-level cutscenes where he arrives to get the portal gems, growling and groaning all the way.


7. Maidens - Maidens are a type of creature absent in the Main Campaign but present in other modes. These creatures resemble driders, and were implemented in the 1.7 patch. She's also unique for the distinctive laugh and snort she'll make when entering through a portal.


8. Rats in the Prison - In the prison, tiny rats will spawn and scurry about the place. These can be slapped into red goo.


9. Rogues are Not Attracted by Treasuries - In My Pet Dungeon, the Mentor erroneously states that treasuries will attract Rogues.

1. Call to Arms Exploit - If you're laying siege and it's coming up to payday, use Call-to-Arms to do a little wage theft. All creatures, regardless of what they are, have to obey the spell. Even if they're absolutely miserable, they have to do it.


2. Dark Angel in Regicide - In the final level, a Dark Angel can be released from the bedrock north of your dungeon. To do this, a firefly, a warlock and a black knight must be sacrificed in succession. The problem with this is the fact you get one piddly little firefly. Yes, one firefly in the entire level. No refunds. Said firefly has a penchant for flying north of your dungeon and out of your sight. There, it'll get itself blown the fuck up by all Reginald's sentry traps. You can prevent this tragedy by nabbing the fly and shutting it in a tiny room. While it'll grumble about having no work to do, it won't cause any mischief while you grab the other creatures.


3. Sacrifice Combinations -
   Click here to see the lot:

   
   

   Creature	Creature	Creature	Result
   2 Vampires	--	--	Bile Demon
   2 Trolls	--	--	Warlock
   2 Salamanders	--	--	Mistress
   2 Dark Elves	--	--	Troll
   2 Warlocks	--	--	Goblin
   2 Rogues	--	--	Salamander
   2 Skeletons	1 Firefly	--	Dark Elf
   2 Black Knights	--	--	Vampire
   2 Bile Demons	--	--	Rogue
   2 Mistresses	--	--	Skeleton
   1 Guard	1 Mistress	--	Black Knight
   1 Black Knight	1 Warlock	1 Firefly	Imp

   
   

   Creature	Creature	Spell	Result
   1 Black Knight	--	Turncoat	Knight
   1 Goblin	--	Create Imp	Dwarf
   1 Bile Demon	Salamander	Tremor	Giant
   1 Warlock	--	Inferno	Wizard
   1 Dark Elf	--	Sight of Evil	Elven Archer
   1 Mistress	--	Create Gold	Thief
   1 Vampire	Guard	Heal	Monk
   1 Mistress	Firefly	Thunderbolt	Fairy
   1 Rogue	Dark Elf	Call to Arms	Guard

   
   

   Creature	Creature	Result
   1 Imp	1 Bile Demon	Gas Trap
   1 Imp	1 Giant	Boulder Trap
   1 Imp	1 Warlock	Sentry Trap
   1 Imp	1 Dark Elf	Alarm Trap
   1 Imp	1 Salamander	Fireburst Trap
   1 Imp	1 Mistress	Lightning Trap
   1 Imp	1 Fairy	Freeze Trap
   1 Imp	1 Skeleton	Fear Trap
   1 Imp	1 Troll	Trigger Trap
   1 Imp	1 Black Knight	Spike Trap
   1 Imp	1 Thief	Wooden Door
   1 Imp	1 Guard	Braced Door
   1 Imp	1 Knight	Steel Door
   1 Imp	1 Wizard	Magic Door
   1 Imp	1 Rogue	Secret Door
   1 Imp	1 Elven Archer	Barricade

   
   
4. Strongest Creature - The strongest creature is not Horny, King Reginald or the Stone Knights, but the elite Dark Angel Zachariah. He’s also the second-best researcher, tying with Kessler Van Doom.


5. "This isn't a wishing well, Keeper" - If you try to sacrifice gold to the Unholy Temple, the Mentor will tell you just that.

1. Custom Maps and Campaigns - Like other games, Dungeon Keeper 2 has its share of modded content. It's mainly custom maps, but there's also some custom campaigns as well. These can range from fun novelties to grueling endurance marathons. I haven't tried any myself, but there's a fair amount of game-play footage out there.


2. Dungeon Keeper 2 Editor - This program lets you create your very own maps and edit all sorts of parameters. It's a fun toy, and unlike other editors of this nature, it doesn't have a steep learning curve.


3. Elite Creatures - Elite creatures are more powerful versions of their normal counterparts. Each elite creature has a unique name and appearance, making them easy to distinguish. To attract elite creatures, you must build rooms in a very particular way. This can be found on wikis and other resources. When an elite creature arrives, a loud trumpet sound will herald their arrival. You only get one per level, so take good care of them.


4. The Prima Official Strategy Guide - This is an incredibly useful manual for the game, and it contains a healthy mixture of jovial gag pages, narrative reveals and raw in-game number data. A scanned copy can be found here on Archive.org.


5. 1 Dark Angel = 1 Vampire - Creating vampires is done by having five corpses (Hero or creature) rot in the graveyard. But if you use a Dark Angel corpse, you can get a vampire instantly. The pseudo-immortality of the vampire makes this a decent deal if you create enough of them. The payday will make you want to faint, but it'll be worth it.

1. Cut Invulnerability Spell - This game has one cut spell, and it's this invulnerability spell. Despite being cut content, it can still be implemented via the Dungeon Keeper 2 Editor. When cast onto a creature, it will create a ring of blue shapes around them until it wears off. The reason for its removal was never revealed by Bullfrog, but the fans have their own theories. Most will agree that it was cut because of balancing issues. I personally think this, in tandem with Possession, would basically be a "win-button".


2. Harmonia is Rebuilding - On page 10 of the Prima Strategy Guide, King Reginald reveals some lore to us. In a public statement to his subjects, he asks them to resettle Harmonia. You see, according to him, it was "tragically marred by Monsters and Infernal creatures". Thus, it can be inferred that Harmonia has only scraped by with the help of the Portal Gems. Why is your goal only to reach the surface? The question answers itself. Harmonia's on borrowed time and it's unable to defend itself for any longer.


3. Horny is an author - Page 11 of the Prima Strategy Guide reveals that Horny's written a book. It's "Getting in touch with your Inner Screaming Lethal Hellspawn: An Executive Guide".


4. King Reginald is a Usurper - You think Reginald would be the epitome of all things good and virtuous. Everyone's so tropey and saccharine, he'd have to. Unfortunately for his subjects, page 69 of the Prima Strategy Guide begs to differ. Instead, Reginald became king through some good old fashioned patricide.
   
   "When Reginald was a boy, he was sat upon his father’s knee and told that one day, he would be king. He was told of the riches that he would earn, the power he would wield, and also of the hardship and work he would have to put in to be a wise and just king. Then King Colin, Reginald’s father, took him to the highest point in Harmonia, and showed him what would be Reginald’s after his father’s death. The young Reginald’s eyes lit up, and as he drew out the dagger from his father’s back, he knew that he was now ready to be a king.".


5. Mentor Promotion Theory - The Mentor in this game is more like a master and he's not afraid to remind you of it. If you fail a level, you won't just lose, you'll be lambasted. If you fail Stonekeep, he'll say "You've failed me for the last time, Keeper!". Contrast this to his previous appearance in Dungeon Keeper 1, wasn't he so tender? In 1, he was downright affectionate in his tone, even going so far as to call you "Master". Now this is where the theory comes in. Judging by this contrast, would it be outlandish to assume that he got promoted to a higher position? Interestingly enough, the Dungeon Keeper Wiki seems to believe in this idea as well.


6. Salamanders are Prehistoric - On page 44 of the Prima Strategy Guide, a salamander gives us some lore. For the question "What do you want to get out of your position?", the reptile replies with "To see the blood of the world once more run red and hot, as it did in the ages before the mammals came". This implies that salamanders are comparable to real-world dinosaurs.


7. The Mentor's Favourite Creature - I personally think he favours Mistresses and Salamanders. He speaks with a very fond tone when he introduces them in My Pet Dungeon. To add some weight to this, he'll react with shock if you sacrifice any mistresses to the Unholy Temple.


8. Warlocks are Elves - In the 3D-animated cutscenes, the Warlocks are shown to have elven ears. Are they elves that became evil?


9. What actually are the Dungeon Keepers? - There are no canonical depictions of Keepers in any shape or form. Are they evil sorcerers, hideous demonic creatures or ethereal ghost-like entities? The closest sign of appearance is the Hand of Evil, the player's cursor. Now onto what is known about Keepers. When dungeon hearts are destroyed, Keepers don't seem to be outright killed. The terms "banished" and "defeated" are used more than "killed". An exception to this is Nemesis, who cry that his sons have been "slain" when you destroy their dungeon hearts. As for you, the mentor can still scold you when you fail a level. If you fail Storm, he'll tell you that Reginald's forces will have you imprisoned. So, dungeon heart destruction isn't so much a "death" as much as it's a banishment, or a reduction of a Keeper's strength. As for Nemesis' sons, these two are implied to be young, inexperienced keepers. As a result, they could have been too weak to endure having their hearts destroyed. Onto the term "banishment", perhaps Dungeon Keepers use them as anchors to the mortal plane. This would also help to explain why the term "banished" is used the way it is, at least, in some instances of keeper defeat.


10. What are the Dark Gods - Dark Gods are mentioned throughout the game, but we don't know what they are. Are these the patron gods of Keepers and creatures? Did they create the portals that you get your creatures from? Did they create the plane that your creatures come from? They never seem to cross over into the mortal realm, is this out of choice or is it because they're unable to? Are there hero gods stopping them? Do they need the keepers to invade the hero realms on their behalf?

The Dungeon Keeper 2 Prima Strategy Guide and the previously-mentioned Dungeon Keeper wiki were my main sources for this one; outside my own experiences as a fan. I'll also add new things to the iceberg, when I find them.

I personally prefer 2, and yes, this is where we’ll inevitably have a bias. We grew up with 2, and not with 1. Now I do like 1 and there are some gameplay elements I sorely missed when I came back to 2. In fact, let’s list some.

1. The atmosphere. 2’s is consistently good, but 1 edges out with its pure cynicism and diabolical hatred for mankind. 1 is an ugly, nasty little game that spits on any beauty it witnesses. 2’s evil, sure, but 2’s more evil in a comedic, exaggerated way. Throw in a dash of “evil on evil” infighting and remove the “war crimes” and well…it’s different! It’s rizzy, oh, it feels rizzy, but it’s more playful. More corny. Yes, it works for 2, absolutely! But what is in 1 is closer to me as a person. I love the rizziness of 2, but I love the grittiness of 1 just that bit more. 2’s got grit, but it’s the kind that smiles and waves. 1 does not know joy until it strings up three hapless village children and burns them alive in front of their despondent mother.
2. Dragons, by god, dragons. I fucking loved the dragons, these squiggly line looking things were goofy just as much as they were lethal. The way they looked, their silly long snouts, their stubby little legs, the way they eat chickens whole by kicking them into their mouths. Bless these messes. Now like the rest of 1, Dragons weren’t a fun addition, they were an investment. So much so that it’s partially what makes Blaise End’s early phases such a torture session; there’s so many tantalising dragons coming in your portal but you’re too broke to house them all.
3. The custom torture animations for creatures. 2 lets you choose some devices, but 1 has the edge for how it torments creatures in such specific ways. Like, sure, fireflies being zapped the second you put them in the chair…that’s funny! But seeing imps be hit with their own pickaxes? Fairies being swung about by their wings? Vampires being staked and repeatedly smacked with a giant mallet? Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious, and it’s a crying shame such a visual never made it into my beloved 2.
4. The diversity in creatures. 2’s creatures are a fine roster, but 1 has beasts that go a bit beyond the norm. Being able to command dragons, hellhounds, tentacles and a whole race of Horned Reapers was very interesting. There was more to choose from, and while not every creature is a prime pick, every creature was like a spectrum of colour. 2’s are not bad, but they’re not as psychedelic in that way. I think 2 streamlined the creatures mechanically, but we lost out on variety.
5. The focus on ruination and pillaging. Loved. This. Thing. To see the overworld map go from so blissful and idyllic to a charred wreck of a nightmare is such an unexpected pleasure. It really cements your progress, and serves as a firm reminder that you’re not just smacking knights and arches around…you’re doing that, then breaching the surface to commit crimes against humanity. The descriptions for these sickeningly sweet spots and how they fall into ruination makes me feel like a bastard every time and I revel in it. 2 on the other hand feels more like an upward struggle against other keepers, more of a personal journey into power than the absolute vileness you inflict in 1’s storyline. It’s still good, and lord knows hearing that mentor never gets old…But with this all said, it doesn’t have the visceral nature I really crave.
6. The mechanic of fortifying walls completely, and it made besieging the enemy a real bitch of a challenge. I had an especially rotten time with this when I played Mistle; where the enemy Keeper had basically kept himself completely isolated save for a puny little chokepoint…which sounds good on paper until you remember his electric skeleton army. The tinking of dwarves uselessly hitting my fortified walls was both intimidating and kind of hilarious. In 2, it’s more frustrating that you can’t do this. It feels less like a threat and more of an annoyance to have your dungeon breached, especially in Regicide where one of the dwarves has this absolute fetish for digging diagonally.

So these are all the things 1 has going for it in my brain, but now…what do we really prefer about 2?

1. The controls. Lord…the controls going from 2 to 1 gave me a sort of gamer whiplash. 1’s feel very stiff in comparison, and considering how high-octane the action is?…Eeeeesh, it’s rough. It feels like the game kind of fights me as I try to play it, and for all its charm, I do find this gets in the way of things. 2 is as smooth as butter and they really clamped down on how to let you move about. It feels a lot more like I’m gliding, rather than fighting the controls in a desperate attempt to not get myself pummelled.
2. The UI. Again, this is likely a bias thing but the UI’s much smoother. It’s more intuitive, whereas in 1 I was having to really struggle to remember things. Another example of things being majorly ironed out.
3. The levels…this was a toss-up, honestly, but something about 2’d levels had an edge. Now yes, 1 had some unique gimmicks. 1 had two tower-defence type levels, which I for one think were very interesting. 1 had some absolutely diabolical levels that make Woodsong look like bloody Smilesville. Woodly Rhyme being the bloodbath it is, Blaise End with its…fucking everything, and Tuilipscent being so infamously hard that I’m too scared to even play it without doing the literal speedrunner strat. But 2’s levels have more distinct stories, more of an identity outside their mechanics. There’s the subplots, there’s the lore, and there’s this sense of struggle as all these keepers just…hopelessly throw themselves at eachother in a vain attempt to get to the top. 1’s very straightforward and mechanic-based, but 2 really likes its story and how each level can tell it. I think the maps in 1 feel larger and grander, but 2’s maps and enemies have this way of branding themselves.
4. The graphics. They're a lot easier to parse than 1's, which is an absolute shame, because 1's really do have a lot of character. 2's polygons are not only stylish, but incredibly legible, even when I'm zooming directly into the action.
5. Oop, here I go again gushing about this damn Mentor. Now chances are, you’ve scrolled far down enough to know that I have a thing for him, and yes, he was in 1 too…But my lord was he the right call as a level mentor in 2! 1’s level mentor made me feel like a shaken baby 95% of the time, and he kiiiind of added to the stress of the game’s larger siege moments. As in, there’s screaming, dying and farting blasting through my speakers, and this guy’s ragdolling me all over the place. 2’s level mentor has the right balance. He can sound relaxed when he needs to, he can emote when he needs to, and he can sound urgent without blowing me away with his performance.
6. The sound design. 1, or at least my copy…was kind of sensory overload after a bit. The sound design is not bad, but it is quite a lot, especially when it comes to its mixing. This does unfortunately (for 1) make me prefer 2 in this regard, which works with this auditory chaos much smoother.

So in short, I love both games, but 2 edges out. I’d love to try and get more used to the controls in 1, but it’s a lot for an autistic person with the muscle-memory skills of a Bile demon drunk on snotwine. I still like to watch speedruns of Dungeon Keeper 1, and they’re genuinely impressive as hell. I’m happy to talk about it just as much as you are, but 2’s already won my heart.

As an artist and (technically) writer myself, I take a lot of joy in developing the things I love and giving them a little extra life. These are random things I feel about the creatures, namely in terms of creative writing, personal interpretation and such.

Goblins

Fireflies

Warlocks

Trolls

Salamanders

Bile Demons

Dark Elves

Skeletons

Mistresses

Rogues

Vampires

Black Knights

Dark Angels

Elite Creature Writings

Here's all of my ideas for the Elite Creatures, purely based off my own leftover creative juices.

Bzzt

Grubb

Almeric

Knud

Furnace

Bloz

Zenobia

Bane

1. Was a notoriously cruel lord, simply, the worst. A greedy oaf of a man who would rather let his peasants die from famine-induced diseases than to even let a single coin leave his coffers.
2. Named “Bane” for his previous combat prowess in life.
3. Has been known to rob creatures of their jackpot winnings, especially weak little goblins, fireflies and trolls.

Darkest secret: Once got played like a xylophone. Seeks revenge for it.

Dominque

1. The Dark Mistress that all the other Mistresses crave to be.
2. Currently seeing Kessler Von Doom, who she finds to be a real specimen of a man.
3. Wrote a guide on the ways one can commit to sheer sexual depravity, and it’s essentially the Dark Mistress holy book. Most creatures mentally clock out when they get to the chapter about getting fireflies to lay eggs inside of your orifices.

Darkest secret: Shockingly romantic when she wants to be.

Gervaise

1. Knows how to organise comically-destructive casino brawls and escape unscathed…all so he can watch the carnage with a nice big bowl of popcorn.
2. Had a brief fling with Zenobia, but she found him annoying and left him to die during a siege. He’s still madly in love with her and is dying to rekindle their relationship.
3. Seems to know everything about everyone.

Darkest secret: Clogs toilets and blames them on the resident Biles.

Kessler Von Doom

1. Met Dominique during the events of DK1, during the fall of Skybird Trill’s afterparty.
2. Goes out of his way to trip every Warlock he sees. Knows of Almeric, and seeks to trip him too.
3. His hair is envied by vampires everywhere.

Darkest secret: Stuffs his casket with herbs for a floral scent.

Kaleb

1. As vile, thuggish and brutal as can be. A shining example of black knight behaviour.
2. Tends to be accompanied by a gang of other black knights, who all have a synchronised dance routine planned for every time they’re ordered to brutalise someone.
3. Constantly being hassled by Dark Angels to join them as a bodyguard. Always recuses so he can carry on partying and tormenting people with his Boys.

Darkest secret: Once forgot the birthday of one of his henchmen.

Zachariah

1. A subspecies of Dark Angel, hence the beak. He’s heard all the long face jokes, don’t even go there.
2. Incredibly disciplined and eager to demonstrate it…usually through killing any creatures that desert during battle.
3. The Guy everyone wants to know. Period.

Darkest secret: Extremely ticklish.

Ta-ta, have fun now...and watch out, there be heroes about.

• [Speedrun.com's Leaderboard]
• [Any% WR by AlenorEmblem]
• [Any% Former WR by Octavius93]
• [Any% Former WR by OberDulli]